K7KBN Pat: Okay on the history of FF-1070 and Yokosuka. I have a very vague memory now that you mention it of her being home ported somewhere like Japan for a while. I was an AIMS MKXII IFF technician which was both good and bad. Good b/c I was one of one IFF tech and it was a high profile system, especially at the height of the cold war in the mid to late 80s which is when I went onboard. It was bad if the system went down in the middle of the night...you were the only tech and could not stop working until you found the fault.

I am now an ER Nurse for the Navy, still continuous active duty since SEP 1985 with no plans to retire soon. The wife and I are looking at probably two more tours after this Naval Hospital Yokosuka tour is over (present duty station). We should rotate out of here around summer 2014.

I do cw about 25% of the time and normally do not like working dx, all they want is an RST, and I find this incredibly annoying. I plan on trying some different paddles such as the N8ZN and others, right now the good ole' BY-1s work fine for me.

N1EA: Many thanks for the link. It was an eyeopener. I had mental visions of these professional CW operators having great fists. I see that most sounded like they were sending with their left foot! Some of the signals were pretty bad as well.

N1EA: Many thanks for the link. It was an eyeopener. I had mental visions of these professional CW operators having great fists. I see that most sounded like they were sending with their left foot! Some of the signals were pretty bad as well.

Al - K8AXW

Hello Al,

Thanks for dropping by.

Much of the recordings were on 500 kc/s where because of the current that ship's transmitters drew at the key-line (about 220 volts at about 250 ma) electronic keyers usually got fried - and some of the recordings are in the 1960s and earlier.

Also 500 kc/s (kHz) was some place where to be heard you had to emphasize your sending to overcome QRN and QRM - remember everyone was crystal controlled within a fairly tight tolerance on the same frequency.

You will definitely find some beautiful sending on those recordings and you will find some poor sending as well.

But keep on listening to the recordings, you will start to see what is (was?) going on. You will hear the CQ slip takes recorded by Joe W0TUT - you will hear the transmitters used - some countries were so poor they barely could get a transmitter on the air it seemed.

After listening to some of the recordings - I recommend GBTT - the Queen Mary, 500 kc/s in Europe, and The Channel Tea Party to gain a understanding of marine radio in the "good old days".

DR: Yes, will continue to listen to them. This was the first time I've ever heard shipboard radio. I've listened to the spark simulation of the Titanic CQD/SOS..... but that was as I said a "simulation." For some reason I had thought that these pro CW operators were really great fists.

I can believe what you said about the poor tone of some of the transmitters. Some were pretty bad.

Since I crossed the Atlantic twice on a troop ship (winter time) I have a better appreciation for these radio operators. If it was me, the ship wouldn't have a radio operator for the first 3 days of the trip!

Many but not all of the best fists also were radio amateurs, the best fists I remember were Ben Russell, N6SL, Bob McGraw, W2LYH, Ed McCarthy, W1YT, Whitey Doherty, K1VV, Jack Lally, W1HDC, Jim Freil, K3SXA, Frank Estrada, former operator at Habana Radio / CLA and TRT Slidell, Louisiana Radio / WNU who never got a ham license, Paul DuMesnil, of Halifax Coast Guard Radio / VCS, and CNAV QUEST / CZDO who never went for a ham ticket, as well as Hank Svard of Goetenborg Radio / SAG in Sweden who also never got a ham license - as well as dozens from Portishead Radio, like Tony Roskilly, G3ZRJ, and others from there and other stations whose fists take my breath away!

Also take a listen to the EJM recording for CD 3 Track 5 which is the Close Down of 500 kHz in the UK. Listen to the beautiful sending of the Chief Operator of Land's End Radio / GLD, David Nancarrow, G3RID. It is beautiful.

Here it is just to keep things right and acknowledge those who have helped me with these recordings:

Quote

I thank the USCG 11th District for cooperation in obtaining and permission to publish the NOJ recording of the SOS from ms Prinsendam. Acknowledgements and thanks are also given to Mr. Terry George for permission to post the audio track of his video "QRT 500" which is available on VHS tape in UK format only at Cowloe Productions. Cowloe Productions retains their copyright of this material. Contact <terry@g4amt.com>, Finally, thanks and acknowledgement are given to R/O Finbar O'Conner for his material, recordings, patience with the production process and his permission to share these recordings with other R/Os. Finbar O'Conner and David J. Ring, Jr. retain their respective copyrights to the material used here.

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